


The Mailbox-Redux

by firefly (fyerfly)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, More characters to be added, The Mailbox, i was not the first to do this and i will not be the last, tfw you write a mystery and everyone already knows the twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fyerfly/pseuds/firefly
Summary: In another universe, Dipper never got his answer from the mailbox. But, what if he did? Would that solve his mystery, or give him more questions?
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	1. The Path Less Travelled

"Welcome back to Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained Anomaly Number Fifty-Four, The Mailbox." Dipper slowly panned the camera to the random mailbox in the forest. Rusted and grimey, it was dead-center in the middle of a clearing. Weeds had grown up around the post and moss hung down from the rust.

Soos and Dipper quickly demonstrated what the mailbox could do. It could see all. Here were all the answers to any question he could possibly ask.  
Dipper already knew that, he just wanted to record the mailbox for his show. Or posterity. And maybe for money, hey he wasn't greedy but he could use a little extra. The monstermon games wouldn't buy themselves.

"What should we ask it next, dood?"

Dipper chewed on his pen, muttering under his breath before his eyes lit up. "Who wrote the Journal," he said loudly.

"Yeah, let's do it!," Soos cried, while waving his arms. Both of them grinned wide. Soon they would know the answer to one of Gravity Falls greatest mysteries. Quickly, Dipper wrote down his question on a spare bit of paper, then moved to the mailbox.

In another universe Mabel interrupted them just before then, in this one she arrived a couple minutes later. "Nifty mailbox," Mabel said as she skipped up closer. "I've been meaning to send this to Mom and Dad." She took a box from her backpack and moved to put it in.

"Mabel, wait!" Dipper ran over to her and waved his letter at her. "Let me put this in first. This might help me solve the greatest myst-" Dipper's voice cracked. "And is that what I think that is?" He caught sight of her box. If it was the gummy worms, he definitely wanted to be able to put his in first.

Mabel grinned as she shook her package at him. "It's my gummy worm video!"  
Of course it was. "Why are you even using this mailbox, wouldn't the regular mail work better." He gestured to the anomaly hard enough that the letter fell out of his hands. Soos quickly picked it up.

Soos quietly put in Dipper's letter while the twins were talking. Dipper thought it was important to do that first, and well, he couldn't let the little dood down.

"Pssh, Dipper." Mabel flapped her hand. "It's a magic mailbox, it can probably deliver it yesterday".

Dipper froze, his mouth snapped shut. He stared at nothing for a beat before replying. "That...actually kind of makes sense but-."  
"Way ahead of you doods" Soos held up one final letter from the mailbox. Dipper looked at it, shocked, before glancing down at his hands. It was gone. Dipper hadn't even noticed when he had dropped it, or when Soos grabbed it. Without another word Mabel shoved her package in and slammed the front of the mailbox closed. All was still for a second before the mailbox shook savagely and the metal flag rose ominously.

One last letter had been sent. Dipper read it quickly, just before the mailbox exploded quite violently. The mailbox was quite disgusted by Mabel. In another universe Dipper would have been furious with his sister just then, but in this one he just was a little mad. After all, he had his answer. "Mabel!" Dipper clenched his fists. Before he could continue yelling at his sister, Soos handed him the unopened letter.

"Don't you want to open it?"

Dipper blinked, anger falling off him like water. "Uh, yeah!" He gulped loudly as he looked at the final letter in his hands. This was the answer to the greatest secret in gravity falls The mailbox was never wrong, he just... had to look. His hand shook slightly as he opened the envelope. Dipper held his breath as he pulled out the folded letter. "This is it-" Dipper's voice cracked. "Finally the answers to who wrote the journals."

"Just open it Dipdop!"

"Soos, is the camera still rolling?," Dipper asked loudly, ignoring his sister. Soos held his thumbs up. Dipper un-folded the letter with little fan-fare. And his stomach dropped, as he stared at the answer. It couldn't be... the mailbox had to be wrong. There was just no way that was true. He bit his lip, with the mailbox gone they couldn't ask anything else. Dipper distantly heard Soos and Mabel ask him what was wrong. Wordlessly he turned the paper toward them, the name Stanford Pines gleaming on the letter.


	2. Bent in the Undergrowth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while. Full confession, I had the first draft of the chapter written months ago.

"Maybe he is the author," Soos said. "It knew- it wasn't wrong before". 

  
Dipper shook his head mutely, staring at his cork board. Every possible scrap of evidence was pinned to the board, a mass of red yarn connecting things together. The old scrap of paper the mailbox gave them was pinned haphazardly at the bottom left corner. Dipper was still staring at it like he could burn a hole through it with eye lasers. "Stan doesn't believe in the supernatural- it cant be him." The author was supposed to be like him, but older (and cooler). Someone he could look up to. Not his disgusting grunkle. 

  
They continued arguing about it at length. Wendy came in a little later, it had been a little slow that day. Stan had caved and let Wendy leave. "Whats up dudes and dudette," Wendy exclamed, bursting through the door. They quickly got her up to speed. "So what, you got this from a sketchy magic mailbox?" She pointed at the paper pinned to the cork board. "You sure it worked?"

  
"We tested it," Dipper said. "And then Mabel blew it up."

  
"How'd that happen?" Wendy said, smirking a little.

  
"Gummy worms in my nose!" Mabel grinned, before flopping dramatically onto her stomach. "Apparently magic mailboxes aren't a fan."

  
"That's gross," Wendy was laughing now. "You've gotta show me."

  
Dipper glared at Mabel while not making a single sound. Did his sister really need to take up Wendy's attention? The gummy worm wasn't even that interesting! And, no that wasn't because he saw his sister spew soda from her nose once.

  
Meanwhile, Wendy shook her head. "How common of a name is Stan, anyway?" 

  
"Huh?" 

  
"I mean think about it, could be another Stan." Wendy snorted. "What, did it say Pines as well?"

  
Dipper nodded his head, chewing on his lip. They didn't know that much about any of their relatives, actually. Just Stan and their parents.

  
"Or maybe he stole someone's identity. He is a con artist."

  
Mabel bit her lip. "I don't think that's true." 

  
"Yeah, he visited when were like, five." Dipper rolled his eyes. He didn't remember that, but he did listen when his parents spoke.

  
At Mabel's questioning look, he snorted. "They told us that before we left, you'd know if you were paying attention." They continued to talk well into the afternoon, talking in circles.

  
Parallel worlds are parallel for a reason. They do seem to converge, quite a bit. Gideon still contacts Bill. And the twins are powerless to stop him from entering Stan's subconscious.

  
Dipper, Mabel and Soos watched on in horror as the dream demon descends into Stan Pines's mind. They follow Bill in. Of course they do. 

  
And maybe, Dipper thinks, viscously, they might get some answers.

  
The second they made it to Stan's mindscape, Dipper blinks. It's all shades of grey, he can't quite put his finger on it, but it feels wrong. He looks around as they walk forward. Off to the side there was a beaten swing set covered in clinging vines. One swing broken, it's snapped rope swaying lazily. They keep going until they see the mystery shack. Or, the representation in his great uncles mind? Dipper suppresses a shiver as they get closer. It's a glitchy mess. It almost seems like something is wrong with it.

  
And then they see Bill, who blasts a hole in Dipper's chest. The more things change the more they stay the same.

  
Somehow the inside manages to outdo the outside in terms of impossible. "Lets split up," Dipper said, glancing around the twisted rooms. 

  
"Okay! Let's go this way!" Mabel grabbed Soos's arm and dragged him.

  
If Stan was truly the author, it would show up in his head, right? Dipper continued on his path, opening every door in his path. Barely listening to the memories, he nearly missed it. Dipper had just opened the memory-door, when heard Stan talking to Soos. It was just a memory, it already happened. But nausea flooded his stomach all the same.

  
"He's weak..." In another universe, he was heartbroken in this one he's angry. Angry enough to stay. More doors opened, and Dipper saw memories of Stan's... past. Did he always need glasses? "Wait, Grunkle Stan...I remind you of yourself?" Dipper said after he stepped through. Grunkle Stan- or the memory of him, isn't surprised to see Dipper.

  
"'Course I do, why did ya think I was hard on you?" 

  
"Well, I.. thought you hated me." 

  
"What, gave you that idea?"

  
"I...just-" Dipper's voice cracked and he looked down at his feet. Did Stan really not know how he made him feel?

  
"You gonna fix that hole?" 

  
Dipper jerked his head up at Grunkle Stan's non-sequitur. "What hole...oh," Dipper said, looking down. He'd almost forgotten, Bill blasted him earlier. Almost effortlessly Stan fixed him up. Apparently they could do anything in the mindscape. Like a lucid dream. Dipper then heard an explosion and rushed off to help fight Bill. He'll show Bill that everyone can stand up to him. 

  
Gideon still blows up the safe, still gets the deed in his grubby little hands. The next day Dipper wakes up in Soos's house. He took them in, of course. Groaning, he latches onto Mabel. They need to get the shack back from Gideon before he sees the conspiracy board. Dipper may not believe Stan is the author, but he really doesn't want that demon fixated on more of his family members. It was creepy enough with Mabel. 

  
Their first plan doesn't work or their second or third... and gnomes have very pointy teeth. By the end of the day they were on the first bus out of Gravity Falls. Dipper dragged his gaze from the forest to his sister. Mabel had her head fully down in her sweater town. They were leaving behind their first real friends. Of course it couldn't last. 

  
Gideon's robot-mech-thing comes after them. Dipper didn't know what was more surprising, that there were three journals or that Gideon thought they had them.  
In the end, Dipper fought him and won. Then Stan arrived, Dipper was to preoccupied to really be suspicious. But they had the shack back.

Dipper stared at the journal. 

  
"We should tell Grunkle Stan." Mabel's voice jolted him. 

  
"What if he is the author," Dipper asked his voice small and breathless. 

  
Mabel opened her mouth to answer, but then Grunkle Stan burst into the room. 

  
"We got that Gideon-smell- whatcha got there," he said pointing to the journal. 

  
Haltingly Dipper explained, searching his uncle's face for recognitions. Stanford has a great poker-face, but he thinks he sees a glimmer of... something. And then Stan took the journal before he could stop him. Dipper could get it back, right?


End file.
